Particle and Nuclear Physics research focuses on the fundamental constituents of matter, and their interactions, governed by the basic principles of quantum mechanics and special relativity.

Our major experimental contribution focuses on the XENON experiments, whose goal is to try and directly detect dark matter using noble liquid detectors located under the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy. While the XENON100 experiment is now nearly over, the next stage, XENON1T, is being constructed and is expected to reach never before achieved sensitivity with a high discovery potential. The research presently done at RPI focuses on two aspects, data analysis for XENON100 and R&D and construction of XENON1T, with an emphasis on xenon purification.

We are primarily working on beyond the standard model applications of lattice field theory. This includes strongly coupled supersymmetric systems such as arise in hidden sector models of spontaneous supersymmetry breaking.

We have also studied models of compositeness in the Higgs sector of the Standard Model, with electroweak symmetry broken by strong dynamics of a new gauge force. This has led us into developing software for the study of resonance properties from first principles, which is also useful for lattice quantum chromodynamics.

Further investigations include dark matter cross sections based on calculations from lattice quantum chromodynamics, and the study of whether or not dark matter may have appreciable self interactions.

Much of our work has an eye toward string-inspired particle phenomenology, which we have worked on in the past.